Take action for School Lunch

Labor Day is the National Day of Action to Get REAL Food into Schools. The Time for Lunch campaign, Slow Food USA's first national political campaign, is a truly democratic effort to improve our children's health by improving school lunch. With its greatly limited resources, the National School Lunch Program struggles to provide anything but cheap, processed food to the more than 30 million children its feeds each day. Getting healthy, real food into schools could help to stem the tide of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease already plaguing our youth. The Time for Lunch Campaign urges our legislators to invest in our nation's health by prioritizing real food in schools when the Child Nutrition act is reauthorized later this year.

Feeding kids better food in schools is one of many greatly needed steps towards growing healthy people. We are now in crisis mode-- lifestyle related chronic disease rates are skyrocketing. One in 3 American children born after the year 2000 is expected to develop diabetes. Nearly a third of children are overweight or obese and these rates are expected to climb. The Robert Wood Johnson foundation recently came out with their 6th annual report on obesity: F as in Fat: How Obesity Rates Are Failing in America 2009.

The current economic crisis could exacerbate the obesity epidemic. Food prices are expected to rise, particularly for more nutritious foods, making it more difficult for families to eat healthy foods.

The report includes an extensive list of specific recommendations of how to "Make Obesity Prevention and Control a High Priority of Health Reform" and how to "Launch a National Strategy to Combat Obesity."

Clearly, we can not continue chalking our dramatic rates of diet-related diseases to personal responsibility. Our food environment matters. Our food system is currently perfectly designed to do what it does best-- deliver large amounts of cheap, processed food. And this is making us collectively sick. We must do something entirely different if we are to expect different outcomes. I believe that getting real food into schools takes us one step closer towards building a food system that keep us healthy, happy and whole. So lets get to it.

There are 3 Steps to Time for Lunch:

• Sign the Petition

  "I believe that change can’t wait: It's time to provide America's children with REAL FOOD at school."

• Spread the Word

Tell your friends and legislators about Time for Lunch.

• Attend an Eat-in

TODAY! Over 300 Eat-ins are happening in all 50 states!

From Slow Food USA:

An Eat-In (part potluck, part sit-in) takes place in public and gathers people to support a cause - like getting real food into schools.

On Labor Day, Sept. 7, 2009, people in communities all over the country will sit down to share a meal with their neighbors and kids. This National Day of Action will send a clear message to Congress: It's time to provide America's children with real food at school.

Getting Congress' attention is a big job, and we need your help. On Sept. 7, attend an Eat-In taking place near you.

Sustainable Nutrition Bottom-line: As a dietitian, I believe it is imperative to do more than encourage people to eat more nutritiously-- we must all take part in building a healthier food system that delivers more nutritious food.